Kyrgyzstan Map

• One of the most popular sports in Kyrgyzstan is football (soccer). The official governing body is the Football Federation of Kyrgyz Republic, which was founded in 1992 after the split of the Soviet Union. It administers the Kyrgyzstan national football team.

• Wrestling is also a very popular sport in Kyrgyzstan. In 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 2 athletes from Kyrgyzstan won medals in Greco-Roman wrestling: Kanatbek Begaliev (silver) and Ruslan Tiumenbaev (bronze).

• Ice hockey has not been popular in Kyrgyzstan until the first Ice Hockey Championship was organized in 2009. In 2011 Kyrgyzstan men's national ice hockey team won 2011 Asian Winter Games Premier Division dominating in all 6 games with 6 wins. It was the first major international event that Kyrgyzstan's ice hockey team took part in. The Kyrgyzstan men's hockey team joined the IIHF in July 2011.

• The Kyrgyz national bandy team has taken Kyrgyzstan's 1st medal at Asian Winter Games when they captured the bronze. Bandy is becoming increasingly popular in the country.

• The school system in Kyrgyzstan includes primary (grades 1 to 4) and secondary (grades 5 to 11 (or sometimes 12)) divisions located within one school. Children are usually accepted to primary schools at the age of 7. It is required that every child finishes 9 grades of school and receives a certificate of completion. Grades 10-11, however, are optional, but it is necessary to complete them in order to graduate and receive a state accredited school diploma. In order to graduate, a student must complete the 11 year school course and pass 4 mandatory state exams in writing, maths, history and a foreign language.

• There are 77 public schools in Bishkek (capitol) and more than 200 in the rest of the country. There are 55 higher educational institutions and universities in Kyrgyzstan, out of which 37 are state institutions.

• The 1993 constitution defines the form of government as a democratic republic. The executive branch includes a president and prime minister. The parliament currently is unicameral. The judicial branch comprises a Supreme Court, a Constitutional Court, local courts and a Chief Prosecutor.

• In March 2002, in the southern district of Aksy, five people protesting the arbitrary arrest of an opposition politician were shot dead by police, sparking nationwide protests. President Askar Akayev initiated a constitutional reform process which initially included the participation of a broad range of government, civil and social representatives in an open dialogue, leading to a February 2003 referendum marred by voting irregularities.

• The amendments to the constitution approved by the referendum resulted in stronger control by the president and weakened the parliament and the Constitutional Court. Parliamentary elections for a new, 75-seat unicameral legislature were held on 27 February and 13 March 2005, but were widely viewed as corrupt. The subsequent protests led to a bloodless coup on 24 March 2005, after which Akayev fled the country and was replaced by acting president Kurmanbek Bakiyev (see: Tulip Revolution).

• On 10 July 2005, acting president Bakiyev won the presidential election in a landslide, with 88.9% of the vote, and was inaugurated on 14 August. However, initial public support for the new administration substantially declined in subsequent months as a result of its apparent inability to solve the corruption problems that have plagued the country since its independence from the Soviet Union, along with the murders of several members of parliament. Large-scale protests against president Bakiyev took place in Bishkek in April and November 2006, with opposition leaders accusing the president of failing to live up to his election promises to reform the country's constitution and transfer many of his presidential powers to parliament.

• Kyrgyzstan is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a league of 56 participating states committed to peace, transparency, and the protection of human rights in Eurasia. As an OSCE participating State, Kyrgyzstan’s international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

• In December 2008, the state-owned broadcaster UTRK announced that it would require prior submission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty programmes, which UTRK are required to retransmit according to a 2005 agreement. UTRK had stopped retransmitting RFE/RL programming on October 2008, a week after it failed to broadcast an RFE/RL programme called 'Inconvenient Questions' which covered the October elections, claiming to have lost the missing material. President Bakiyev had criticised this programme in September 2008, while UTRK told RFE/RL that its programming was too negative. Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Kyrgyzstan 111th equal out of 173 countries on its Press Freedom Index, strongly criticised the decision.

• On 3 February 2009, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced the imminent closure of the Manas Air Base, the only US military base remaining in Central Asia. The closure was approved by Parliament on 19 February 2009 by 78–1 for the government-backed bill. However, after much behind-the-scenes negotiation between Kyrgyz, Russian and American diplomats, the decision was reversed in June 2009. The Americans were allowed to remain under a new contract, whereby rent would increase from $17.4 million to $60 million annually.

• Kyrgyzstan is among the twenty countries in the world with the highest perceived level of corruption: the 2008 Corruption Perception Index for Kyrgyzstan is 1.8 on a scale of 0 (most corrupt) to 10 (least corrupt).

• Kyrgyzstan is facing a trial in the face of the October 2010 Parliamentary Elections. It is forecasted to be an uphill battle for the interim government that has struggled to unify the country after the 7 April 2010 Coup and subsequent ethnic clashes.

• Kyrgyzstan was the second poorest country in the former Soviet Union, and is today, the second poorest country in Central Asia. Despite the backing of major Western lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Kyrgyzstan has had economic difficulties following independence. Initially, these were a result of the breakup of the Soviet trading bloc and resulting loss of markets, which impeded the republic's transition to a free market economy.

• The government has reduced expenditures, ended most price subsidies and introduced a value-added tax. Overall, the government appears committed to the transition to a market economy. Through economic stabilization and reform, the government seeks to establish a pattern of long-term consistent growth. Reforms led to Kyrgyzstan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 20 December 1998.

• The Kyrgyz economy was severely affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting loss of its vast market. In 1990, some 98% of Kyrgyz exports went to other parts of the Soviet Union. Thus, the nation's economic performance in the early 1990s was worse than any other former Soviet republic except war-torn Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, as factories and state farms collapsed with the disappearance of their traditional markets in the former Soviet Union. While economic performance has improved considerably in the last few years, and particularly since 1998, difficulties remain in securing adequate fiscal revenues and providing an adequate social safety net. Remittances of around 800,000 Kyrgyz migrants working in Russia represent 40% of Kyrgyzstan's GDP.

• Agriculture is an important sector of the economy in Kyrgyzstan (see agriculture in Kyrgyzstan). By the early 1990s, the private agricultural sector provided between one-third and one-half of some harvests. In 2002, agriculture accounted for 35.6% of GDP and about half of employment. Kyrgyzstan's terrain is mountainous, which accommodates livestock raising, the largest agricultural activity, so the resulting wool, meat and dairy products are major commodities. Main crops include wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, and fruit. As the prices of imported agrichemicals and petroleum are so high, much farming is being done by hand and by horse, as it was generations ago. Agricultural processing is a key component of the industrial economy as well as one of the most attractive sectors for foreign investment.

• Kyrgyzstan is rich in mineral resources but has negligible petroleum and natural gas reserves; it imports petroleum and gas. Among its mineral reserves are substantial deposits of coal, gold, uranium, antimony, and other valuable metals. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment in this field. The government has actively encouraged foreign involvement in extracting and processing gold. The country's plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of hydroelectric energy.

• On a local level, the economy is primarily kiosk in nature. A large amount of local commerce occurs at bazaars and small village kiosks in country regions. A significant amount of trade is unregulated. There is also a scarcity of common everyday consumer items in remote villages. Thus a large number of homes are quite self-sufficient with respect to food production. There is a distinct differentiation between urban and rural economies.

• The principal exports are nonferrous metals and minerals, woolen goods and other agricultural products, electric energy and certain engineering goods. Imports include petroleum and natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, most machinery, wood and paper products, some foods and some construction materials. Its leading trade partners include Germany, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

• On 6 April 2010, a demonstration in Talas protested against government corruption and increased living expenses. The protests turned violent and spread nationwide. There were conflicting reports that Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongatiyev had been killed. On 7 April 2010, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev imposed a state of emergency. Police and special services arrested many opposition leaders. In response, protesters took control of the internal security headquarters (former KGB headquarters) and a state television channel in the capital, Bishkek. Reports by Kyrgyzstan government officials indicated that at least 75 people were killed and 458 hospitalized in bloody clashes with police in the capital.

• Prime Minister Daniar Usenov accused Russia of supporting the protests; this accusation was denied by Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. Opposition members also called for the closing of the US controlled Manas Air Base. On 15 April 2010, Bakiyev left the country and flew to neighboring Kazakhstan, along with his wife and two children. The country's provisional leaders announced that Bakiyev signed a formal letter of resignation prior to his departure.

• Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev ordered measures to ensure the safety of Russian nationals and tighten security around Russian sites in Kyrgyzstan to protect them against possible attacks.

• Clashes occurred between the two main ethnic groups—the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz—in Osh, the second largest city in the country, on 11 June 2010. The clashes incited fears that the country could be heading towards a civil war.

• Finding it difficult to control the situation, Roza Otunbayeva, the interim leader, sent a letter to the Russian president, Dimitry Medvedev, asking him to send Russian troops to help the country control the situation. Medvedev's spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, said in a reply to the letter, "It is an internal conflict and for now Russia does not see the conditions for taking part in its resolution". The clashes caused a shortage of food and other essential commodities with more than 200 killed and 1,685 people hurt, as of 12 June 2010 (2010 -06-12). The Russian government, however, said it would be sending humanitarian aid to the troubled nation.

• According to local sources, there was a clash between two local gangs and it did not take long for the violence to spread to the rest of the city. There were also reports that the armed forces supported ethnic Kyrgyz gangs entering the city, but the government denied the allegations.

• Ethnic fighting continued into a third day as armed groups, mainly Kyrgyz, continued to threaten local Uzbeks. By 13 June 2010, the unrest had claimed about 100 lives, while the number injured had increased to over 1,000. The riots spread to neighboring areas, and the government declared a state of emergency in the entire southern Jalal-Abad region. To control the situation, the interim government gave special shoot-to-kill powers to the security forces. The Russian government decided to send a battalion to the country to protect Russian facilities.

• The interim president, Roza Otunbayeva, accused the family of ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev of "instigating the riots". AFP reported "a veil of smoke covering the whole city". Authorities in neighboring Uzbekistan said at least 30,000 Uzbeks had crossed the border to escape the riots.

• Osh became relatively calm on the 14 June 2010, but Jalal-Abad witnessed sporadic incidents of arson. The interim government accepted that the security situation was worsening nearing Jalal-Abad. The entire region was still under a state of emergency as Uzbeks were reluctant to leave their houses for fear of attacks by the mobs. The United Nations decided to send an envoy to assess the situation.

• Temir Sariyev, deputy chief of the interim government, said there were local clashes and that it was not possible to fully control the situation. He added that there were not sufficient security forces to contain the violence. Media agencies reported on 14 June 2010 that the Russian government was considering a request by the Kyrgyz government. An emergency meeting of Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) was held on the same day (14 June) to discuss the role it could play in helping to end the violence. The deputy head of Uzbekistan's emergency services, Riza Ibragimov, confirmed the presence of more than 60,000 Uzbek refugees in Andijan Province.

• Ethnic violence waned, according to the Kyrgyz government, by 15 June 2010 and Kyrgyz president Roza Otunbayeva held a news conference on Tuesday (15 June 2010) and declared that there was no need for Russia to send in troops to quell the violence. There were at least 170 people left dead by 15 June 2010 but Pascale Meige Wagner of the International Committee of the Red Cross said the death toll was an underestimate. The UN High Commissioner told reporters in Geneva that evidence suggested that the violence seemed to have been staged up. The United Nations called for a "humanitarian corridor" to be set up to help the people affected by the riots and described the situation as a "tinder-box". There were fears that a referendum, which would pave the way for parliamentary style elections in October 2010, would be delayed but the Kyrgyz president calmed such fears by declaring that the referendum would be held as scheduled.

• There were no reports of heavy fighting between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks on 16 June 2010 and UN airplanes with tents and other emergency aid started arriving in neighboring Uzbekistan. Russian government cargo airplanes carrying food and blankets also landed in Bishkek. According to the World Food Programme, it had enough food in Kyrgyzstan to feed 87,000 people for two months.

• The clashes left some 300,000 people internally displaced and Uzbek leaders wanted the UN peacekeeping force to intervene because they did not trust the Kyrgyz forces any longer. Another 100,000 refugees crossed the border into Uzbekistan. Ethnic Uzbeks threatened to blow up an oil depot in Osh if they failed to get guarantees of protection. The United Nations said it believed that the attacks were "orchestrated, targeted and well-planned". Kyrgyz officials told the media that a person suspected to be behind the violence in Jalal-Abad had been detained.